The Start of a New Experience with Charlotte City Council

My name is Rita Venant and I am a rising junior majoring in communications with a minor in journalism. I am from Huntersville, NC. Living in Huntersville (a town in Charlotte-Mecklenburg), I am not far from the city of Charlotte. Growing up so close to Charlotte, I often consider Charlotte my home. I have always been fascinated about Charlotte politics and the growth of the city. With that being said, I am very excited to be interning with an at-large Charlotte City Council member, Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera. For Councilwoman Ajmera, I am leading her communications brand through social media outreach. I will also be writing op-eds, attending community events, and networking with residents and city officials.

In the future, I hope to be involved with the government. I believe it is very important to learn about your community first before entering the national level. For the summer, my goal is to learn about the local government–residents concerns, how the city plans for new development, how the officials budget money, etcetera– and how it operates. I believe I will learn a lot this summer because I am coming into this internship excited, eager to learn, open-minded, and curious. I will accomplish my goal of learning about the local government and building my network by taking good notes, asking questions during our weekly one-on-one meetings, introducing myself to other officials in the Charlotte City government, and asking for more responsibilities (if needed). I will be able to track my accomplishments and impact by journaling what I did each day, taking pictures at events, and record my new contacts in “google contacts.”

I am excited to see what the summer holds especially because it is in the realm of what I want to do in the future. I am also excited to be “in the field,” working side-by-side with the Councilwoman so that I can experience first-hand the work she is doing.